Improvement in ammonia-gas engines



EMILE LAMM; Improvement in Ammoniacal Gas Engine". 124,495.

I No. Patented March 12, 187-2..

' STATES EMILE LAMM, OF NElV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN AMMONIA-GAS ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,495, dated March12, 1872.

SPECIFICATION.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, EMILE LAMM, of the city of New Orleans, parish ofOrleans and State of Louisiana, have invented an Improved AnimoniacalGas-Engine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full andexact description of the same.

Object of my Invention.

The first part of my invention relates to the placing of two disks ofiron a small distance apart within the packing-boxes, and surroundingthe piston-rod and valve-stem, of a steamengine, so as to form a hollowin the center of the packing-boxes, which hollow is made to contain alubricating-fluid constantly supplied from a small reservoir, in orderto be able to work ammoniacal gas instead of steam in the engine withoutloss of the gas. The second part of my invention relates to a horizontalboiler instead of a perpendicular, as shown in my invention of anannnoniacal engine patented July 19, 1870, No. 105,581. The third partof my invention relates to an air-chamber, in combination with theexhaust-pipe of the engine, so as to relieve all back action against thevalve ofthe engine at the instant the exhaust takes place at the end ofeach stroke, which, if the air-chamber was not added to theexhaust-pipe, would throw the valve of the engine off its seat. Thefourth part of my invention relates to a tube, in combination with thereservoir of liquefied gas and the tank containing the weak solutionwhich reabsorbs the exhaust-gas. It is connected in such a manner, bothwith the tank and reservoir, as to exert, when desired, the samepressure on top of the liquid in the tank as in the reser-- voircontaining the liquid from which the m0- tive power is derived. Itsobject is to discharge rapidly, at the end of an operation, thesaturated solution in the tank, while it also serves to charge the innerboiler or reservoir with liquid-gas at the beginning of an operation.The fifth part of my invention relates to an overflow-tank, incombination with the principal tank of the engine, which contains thewater of reabsorption for the-gas coming from the exhaust. Thisoverflow-tank is for the purpose of relieving any back pressure on theengine from the gas passing unabsorbed in the first tank, this gas beingtaken up by the sec- 0nd or overflow-tank.

I will now, by proper reference to thedrawing, describe my invention.

The first figure is a transverse cut of the piston-rod and packing-box.The second figure is a transverse section of thewhole machine. The thirdfigure is a cross-section.

A in Fig. l is two disks of iron with a hole in their center, to allowthe piston-rod and valve-stem to glide through. These two disks arejoined into one by three small columns. There is gumpacking above andbelow the ring, and in the space between the two disks there is aconstant flow of oil around the piston-rod and valve-stem from a smallreservoir of oil shown next to the engine in Fig. 2, and lettered B. H,in Fig. 2, is a reservoir of liquefied ammoniacal gas, which isconstructed like a common tubular boiler without a fire-box. It isimmersed in tank K, containing a weak solution of aqua ammonia, whichreabsorbs the exhaust-gas of the engine. E is an air-chamber fixed uponthe exhaust-pipe J immediately after the check-valve F. This air-chamberprovides against too great a concussion of the gas against the valve ofthe engine at the instant the exhaust takes place, thereby rendering theengine much more efficient. Bis a tube having an internal connectionwith reservoir H, and a like connection with tank,K. This internalconnection with tank K from reservoir H can be cut off at will by meansof the throttle-valve T. This same tube then opens outward throughanother throttle-valve, Z. This tube answers the double purpose ofintroducing the charge of liquefied gas at the beginning of an operationin reservoir 11 by means of the connection S, and of hurrying thedischarge of the saturated solution in tank K at the end of an operationby the pressure of gas, which can be produced at will on top of theliquid in tank K from the reservoir H by opening the throttle-valve T.The connection W serves to introduce the charge of reabsorbing waterinto K, in which the exhaustpipe of the engine dips. L is anoverflowtank, which, during the working of the engine, is two-thirdsfilled with the same liquid as in tank K, which it gets from it byopening throttle-valve O in pipe n, which pipe dips down to the bottomof the overflowtank L. When throttle-valve O is closed, theconnecting-pipe M and N form but one pipe, the end M communicatinginternally with the top of tank K in an elbow. In the end of pipe M isseen a a check-valve, I. If there is a greater pressure of gas on thetop of the reabsorbing solution in K than in L it becomes equalizedinstantly with the pressure in L by lifting the check-valve P, and theescaping gas through pipe M N is reabsorbed in the water at the bottomof overflow-tank L. The coupling-pipe and throttle-valve V serve todischarge the saturated solution of aqua ammonia at the end gianoperation.

I will now describe the working of my improved engine. It can easily beseen that the tubular reservoir H and tank K are equivalent in theircombinations to the same arran gement in my patent for an aminoniaoalgas-engine, dated July 19, 1870, No. 105,5Sl--viz., the reservoir orboiler being in a like manner immersed in the water of reabsorption, theonly difference in the above-described boiler is, first, that it isplaced horizontally, while in my first patent it is placed in aperpendicular position; second, the liquid from which the motive poweris derived is placed around the tubes in the reservoir in stead ofinside of them as in my first patent; the latter I consider animprovement, for there is less priming, and, further, a greater surfaceof evaporation. As I have explained already the action of both theair-chamber in the exhaust-pipe of the engine and of the overflow-tank,as well as that of tube B, it is only necessary to refer to my firstpatent for an ammoniacal gas-engine to understand more fully the workingof this one, which works in precisely the same manner as the first.

Nowywhat I claim as new in this, and wish to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The packing-boxes, as described, in combination with reservoir oflubricating liquid B.

2. The air-chamber E in the exhaust J, for the purpose set forth andspecified.

3. The tube R, for the purpose set forth and specified.

4. The overflow-tank L, in combination with tank K, for the purpose setforth and specified.

EMILE LAMM.- Witnesses:

ROBERT BRUCE, JOHN M. GIBsoN.

